Single Player Games You Should Know (In 2022)
The world of online gaming is more exciting than ever. As internet speeds increase and next-generation consoles boost our power, a whole world of players is waiting to team up or do battle. Yet not all games rely on interaction with other players to provide an immersive experience. Instead, they focus on storytelling and emotions to engross the player. This is the world of the single player game.
What Is The Difference Between Single Player And Multiplayer?
Single player games are played by one person alone. They may have the option to be tackled as two-player games, or even have modes that have multiplayer modes. However, the basics of the game are that the optimum experience comes from playing on your own.
A multiplayer game allows several different people to play at once. These players can be local, playing in the same room on the same system, or can be online playing at different locations. Many games can have upwards of 100 people playing at once, particularly battle royale-style titles. When you get into the realms of MMORPGs then this can increase exponentially.
What Makes Single Player Games Good?
As single player games focus on one character, they allow you to dig deeper into the narrative. This allows the creation of story-based games that can manipulate the emotions of the player. Doing this is harder with multiplayer titles as numerous people cannot play the same character. The more people play a game, the less it will tend to focus on individual stories.
What Is An "Online Single Player"?
Some games are single player, but you need to connect to their servers to play the game itself. This can have both advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, you can often play in worlds and with storylines that are regularly updated. The downside is that you need reliable internet connections to play the title.
What Are The Most Fun Solo Games To Play?
There is a whole range of fun solo games to play. For fans of swords and sorcery, you may wish to try The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. For people who love to explore sandbox worlds, Red Dead Redemption or the Grand Theft Auto Series is a good place to start. While some titles may be console exclusive, most will be available as single player games on PC.
These are just a few choices, however, and the list of good single player games is practically endless.
Here are out top 8 single player games:
1. Elden Ring
Elden Ring is a behemoth of a roleplaying game, which holds no punches. Directed by legendary games producer Hidetaka Miyazaki, it also had world-building elements provided by Game of Thrones writer George R. R. Martin. Released in 2022, it is the biggest selling game of the year.
In the title, you take on the part of a customizable character who is seeking to repair the Elden Ring. This is done by traversing six areas, ranging from undead wastelands to hidden dungeons and long-forgotten ruins.
If you are new to gaming, then there are easier RPG titles to start with. However, for a fully immersive single player RPG, it will be hard to find something as engaging and graphically beautiful.
2. The Last of Us
The Last of Us has a more recent sequel, but to get the full experience it is best to start with the first title. The game is a post-apocalypse survival tale, following a man named Joel as he tries to deliver a young girl named Ellie across the country.
Taking place over four seasons, the game is about surviving against fungal undead-like creatures. However, more interesting is the father-daughter relationship that unfolds between the two characters. Blending horror and good old action, anyone loving a tear-jerking story should try this out.
3. Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
For anyone thinking the Lego titles are just for children, you will find yourself mistaken. Carrying on the trend from games like Lego Batman, Harry Potter, and other installments, this title takes the whole nine Star Wars main timeline movies and gives them the Lego overhaul. The game has both single and multiplayer modes, making it one of the best single player games for casual family sessions.
All the Lego action that has been a hallmark of the franchise is there. Puzzles are taxing enough, and the famous quips and one-liners remain. It is fun and engaging without being too deep. Ideal for something to dip in and out of when you need some downtime, it is available on most major platforms and is one of the best single player PC games.
4. Horizon II: Forbidden West
Another PlayStation exclusive, Horizon is one of the most inventive games to date. In a nutshell, you could describe it as robot dinosaurs. Which sounds simple and a little silly for a single player video game. Yet the game has a poignant environmental theme with its dose of post-apocalypse adventure.
Not only will you be fully engaged in the story, but you get to play one of the modern video game's most iconic characters; Aloy. Horizon II: Forbidden West is a sequel, so you may want to play the original to enjoy the second installment.
5. Kirby and the Forgotten Land
Not all single player games have to be in-depth, serious story-driven titles. In fact, Nintendo does casual well, and nowhere is this more apparent than their Switch exclusive, Kirby and the Forgotten Land. Utilizing their inflating round ball character Kirby, it is the first of the character's 13 titles that have been made in 3D.
Your task is to guide Kirby through a series of different stages. As you go, you must save the Waddle Dees by inhaling enemies and taking their powers or spitting them out as a projectile. The game was so popular it sold over 2.1 million units in its first two weeks of release. It is one of the best fun single player games on the Switch.
6. Total War: Total Warhammer III
This title is one of the few turn-based strategy games to be the biggest sellers of 2022. It can be played in both single player and multiplayer mode and takes part in the world of tabletop Warhammer Gaming.
In the game, you must build armies and manage settlements within the Warhammer world. Through the game, you will come up against AI-controlled factions and have to fight them off in Total War. You can choose to play as Grand Cathay, Kislev, The Ogre Kingdoms, or one of the five Chaos races of the gods.
7. Spiderman
Before this game existed, apart from the outstanding Batman games, few superhero single player games had managed to live up to expectations. However, Spiderman, released as a PlayStation exclusive in 2018, delivered it by the bucketload. Mapping out an almost life-size Manhattan, it lets you take control of the web swinger as he spun his way across the island.
As you go, you learn new skills and begin to get more control of your character. Before you know it, you can be in immersive combat situations, pulling fire hydrants onto goons and using signature Spiderman moves. With cameos from Spidey’s rogue's gallery, single player games don’t often come this good.
8. Grand Theft Auto V
Few games have the cultural impact that the Grand Theft Auto series has done. Initially a top-down arcade-style game, it is now a sandbox title that lets you traverse a full city building a criminal empire. While it gets lots of bad press for its content, at its heart Grand Theft Auto is witty, and humorous and never takes itself that seriously.
Grand Theft Auto V was released in 2013 so is almost ten years old. Yet like all the installments, it never grows old with new missions, a huge world to explore, and even a massive online game as an option. It is a game you will come back to time and time again.
9. Red Dead Redemption II
Imagine everything we spoke about with Grand Theft Auto, then transport it into the wild west for Red Dead Redemption II. In the first gun-toting western sandbox world, you take the role of Arthur Morgan of the Van Der Linde gang.
The main quest is fairly irrelevant to the many side quests and before you know it, you will have lost hours trawling through the wilderness. It remains one of the greatest modern single player games.
